Of the many things Community does well, holiday-themed episodes might be the best. This season’s “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” and season one's Halloween episode “Introduction to Statistics” remain two of my favorites, and each does an incredible job of capturing the spirit of their respective holiday. Tonight’s Valentine’s Day episode, “Early 21st Century Romanticism,” continued the trend.

The episode began with Abed and Troy discussing their love for new librarian Mariah (Maite Schwartz, House). I loved the idea of these two competing, and Mariah describing it as “the cutest thing that’s ever happened” was apt. While I hate to use the term “bromance,” it’s nice to get a reminder of how close these two have become. While I still hope both characters are given love interests in the future, it was fun seeing that their friendship is too strong to let any girl interfere. I’m glad the writers went this route, as any kind of rift between the two of them would really upset the show’s balance.

Meanwhile , Pierce’s crass behavior once again led him to being separated from the group, wallowing in a drug stupor and joined by Andy Dick in a cameo as a miniature pilot. Dick’s role was great, and I especially liked the callback to “streets ahead.” One of my only complaints about last week’s episode was that Pierce seemed uncharacteristically mean, and I’m glad to see that this week he returned to being more of a lovable curmudgeon.

Also separated from the group this week was Jeff. I loved the Barenaked Ladies defenses that led to his fight with the group, and everything in his apartment was golden. I’m consistently amazed at the brilliant ways that the show manages to reinvent Chang each week, and his homelessness was no disappointment. Each time he pulled something out of a new appliance got a great laugh out of me, and I’m impressed that the writers even got me feeling sympathetic toward him. I’m curious to see if we’ll see more of him living with Jeff, as I’d imagine that’s an Odd Couple remake waiting to happen.

Britta’s plot with her new friend Paige--a “friend of Ellen”--fell a little flat for me, but it was worth it if only for the joke of Pierce’s prepared statement at the beginning. I did like the resolution at the dance, including Annie leaning in for a kiss. In addition to being a pitch-perfect reaction on Annie’s part, it also showed yet another example of the writers’ impressive restraint. Rather than go for the sensationalistic Annie/Britta kiss (which, granted, I can’t say I would’ve complained about), they instead opted for a funny character moment, which was absolutely the better choice.

Like other holiday episodes of Community, this one was based upon its holiday’s most important theme--in this case, love. The text message from Jeff to the rest of the group was legitimately touching, and it’s exactly the kind of moment that makes this show something special. Pierce passed out and isolated at the end was a little sad, and I look forward to seeing him kick his painkiller habit and come back into the fold in the weeks to come.

Community has continually proven to be one of the best comedies currently on television, and episodes like this one show that it’s also capable of being among the most touching. I’ve really come to love these characters, and, more specifically, come to love them as a unit. The group has such incredible chemistry, and it’s always a treat to see them occasionally take a break from berating one another to appreciate that. The show has once again nailed a holiday episode, using Valentine’s Day to show that it truly has a lot of heart.

9/10

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Community airs on NBC on Thursdays at 8PM EST. Keep checking my blog for more reviews, and be sure to follow me on twitter for my thoughts on this and other shows.